Computer networks, such as the Internet, enable transmission and reception of a vast array of information. In recent years, for example, some commercial retail stores have attempted to make product inventory information and other data related to product sales available to customers over the Internet. For simplicity, manufacturers, retailers, and others that sell products to customers are interchangeably referred to herein as “merchants.” Where information is available, however, most of this information is stored in legacy systems, from which it is time consuming and expensive to obtain. As a result, much of the online information provided by individual retailers is inaccurate. Similarly, a number of third party businesses have attempted to organize local product information (for example, by scraping websites or other systems that expose product information, etc.) across multiple retailers and to provide the information over the Internet. These attempts have also not been successful, likely due to difficulties accessing reliable data with high coverage of products, retailers, and locations. In addition, where inventory data is obtained, it is often stale by the time it reaches the third party; thus, the inventory data may not be accurate.
Users researching a certain popular product often wish to find a nearby store or location that has the product for which they are looking in-stock. The term “in-stock,” as used herein, refers to items that are currently in the merchant's inventory and are available for sale. The user may typically desire to determine whether the nearby merchant locations have the desired product in-stock. Therefore, it is desirable to provide a relevant portal or electronic document or place page that allows a customer or user to determine whether nearby merchants have in-stock a particular desired product.